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Crafty Blogger Blurbs

Brown Hair and Glasses 
Cherie is on a kick, creating several mixed media pictures that feature women with brown hair, blue eyes, and glasses.

Carmi's Art/Life World 
Carmi featured her favorite cards as seen at CHA from Ecstasy Crafts!

Craftside-A behind-the-scenes peek at our crafty world 
This week at Craftside there is a recipe for chocolate pasta dough, a decollaged altered book, a video on how to crochet a lacy join and some lobster clip art. 

Crafty Princess Diaries 
Tammy is wrapping up her amigurumi gang and wishing them well on their trip.

Eileen - The Artful Crafter 
If you do beading, how do you keep your craft space looking neat?! Eileen admits she doesn't. Take a look. 

Mixed Media Artist 
Cyndi has finished her beaded turtle fabric panels. Now if she could just figure out what to do with them! 

Creating a Chalkboard Journal Page

I just realized I had one more background 

technique to share with you from my Junque 

Journal How-To series. (click HERE to view it, 

and my other Junque Journal pages)  

With this background I began by painting both 

pages (side by side) with a layer of gesso.

Once dried I painted on the right side with craft

chalkboard paint.  It use to be that you could 

only find chalkboard paint in spray cans or in 

large size cans.  Now you can find it in small 

craft size paint bottles which is nice so it

doesn't go to waste.

Once you've painted your chalkboard paint and 

it has dried well.  Use a piece of chalk to season 

your chalkboard by scribbling on it then erasing it.

I decided to use my Portfolio water-soluble oil

pastels to decorate around the edges along 

with embellishing with paint pens.

For the left hand side of the page I first misted

my dried gesso page with Color Mists which 

are vivid sprayable watercolors. Then once the 

page was dry (heat guns works great for drying).  

I once again used Portfolio water-soluble oil 

pastels to draw a design. After I sealed 

the page with PYM II , I then further 

embellished with paint & gel pens.

Cupcakes and Cocktails

I can't believe a whole week has gone by!  I've been so busy 

cleaning and baking for a party this weekend that the week

just flew by!  Don't these cupcakes look delicious!  A 

little something for everyone's taste hopefully!

Crafty Blogger Blurbs

About Family Crafts 
The newest craft challenge is all about chalkboard crafts. Drop by and play along!

Carmi's Art/Life World 
This week Carmi has the opportunity to combine her love of rubber stamping with resin! 

Craftside-A behind-the-scenes peek at our crafty world 
This week at Craftside there are tutorials on how to needle felt a bird ornament, crochet a swirl granny square, an interview with Alena Hennessy author of Cultivating Your Creative Life and a recipe for coconut rice with peaches and rum raisins. 

Crafty Princess Diaries 
The Crafty Princess provides an update on her big and little fiber projects.

Eileen - The Artful Crafter 
Come join the fun. The Artful Crafter is celebrating its 6th blogoversary. Party favors, cupcakes and prizes for all 

Mixed Media Artist 
Cyndi is going to be giving away the whole Stash Happy series over the month of July...starting with the fabulous Applique book!

Playing With Blue Glass 
Cherie finally finds some blue glass to build sculptures with. 

The Crochet Dude 
Drew is having a Pinterest contest and giving away an ENTIRE set of his new ergonomic hooks! 

Gaze Upon This...

For your viewing pleasure!

I believe my new gazing ball was originally a glass 

globe from a floor to ceiling lamp.  I wasn't able to

capture the true beauty of it when the sun hits it

and shows all the various colors it has...can I

just say GORGEOUS!!!

Pictures of the Day 7-11-12

I love when things grow voluntarily 

on their own!

a group of sunflowers decided to pop 

up in our garden

Which have given  the bees

a happy haven to do 

their work!

Amoung other things that decided to grow on their own 

are these pumpkins...hopefully they make it until fall!

Flip Flop Wreath

Flip Flop Wreath

Wire Coat Hanger

Flip Flops (how many depends on the size you 

buy-I wished I had bought smaller sizes) *

Hot Glue or Multi-surface adhesive

Ribbon

*I bought my flip flops at Target in their 2.00 bin

1. Stretch coat hanger out to form a circle

2. Glue flip flops down to the coat hanger then to each other

3. Tie pieces of ribbon to the thong/plastic part of the flip flop

(this is a great way to use up pieces of leftover ribbon) 

4. Bend the top part of the hanger around to form a loop

and tie some ribbon at the base of the loop.

5.  Hang it on your door :-)

Looking for more wreath ideas check out

my Pinterest wreath board to get

inspired!

It's really hard to find something that will look

right on my unique door! I really loved the idea of

brightly colored flip flops for summer :-)

Click HERE to see my door painting process

Yummy for my Tummy!

Had some digital fun using pictures I took of

Mr. Kevin eating his first watermelon!

Crafty Blogger Blurbs

Craft Buds 
If you've ever hit a wall in running your creative business, be inspired by these top 12 new resources from our expert, Anna at Urban Stitches.

CraftFoxes 
If you still haven't found that ideal summer swimsuit, maybe it's time to make your own! CraftFoxes highlights 10 free swimwear patterns for summer.

Craftside-A behind-the-scenes peek at our crafty world 
This week at Craftside there is a recipe for zucchini slaw, a tutorial for a herringbone and beaded blossom embroidery stitch, a fingerprint American flag card and knitter's letter to President Lincoln.

Crafty Princess Diaries 
Tammy continues her knitting lessons, this time with a scarf kit and some yumo merino yarn.

Eileen - The Artful Crafter 
How to keep 'em in stitches with your mail art.

Feeling Patriotic 
Cherie makes some red, white, and blue paintings

Mixed Media Artist 
Cyndi has finished a quilt that pays homage to the beautiful lava flows on Hawai'i! 

Resin Crafts! 
Carmi has a fun idea to pour resin into vintage baking pans.

Lemony Goodness!

Limoncello for all!

Way back in March my friend Kris and I began our limoncello adventure!  Remember when I posted about my abundance of lemons I had?  Click HERE for my other lemon recipes.

Limoncello

The Recipe

20 lemons , well scrubbed  

2 (750 ml) 151 proof Everclear - grain alcohol

5 1/3 cups sugar 

6 2/3 cups bottled water

Wash the lemons with a vegetable brush and hot water to remove any reside of pesticides or wax; pat the lemons dry. Carefully zest the lemons with a zester or vegetable peeler so there is no white pith on the peel.

Zesting the lemons

Step One: 

In a large glass jar (1-gallon jar), add one bottle of Everclear; add the lemon zest as it is zested. Cover the jar and let sit at room temperature for at least (10) ten days and up to (40) days in a cool dark place. The longer it rests, the better the taste will be. (There is no need to stir - all you have to do is wait.) 

As the limoncello sits, the Everclear slowly 

take on the flavor and rich yellow color of 

the lemon zest.

~~~~~~~~

Step Two: (In our case it was 40+ days later) 
In a large saucepan, combine the sugar 

and water; cook until thickened, approximately 

5 to 7 minutes. Let the syrup cool before 

adding it to the Limoncello mixture. 

Add to the Limoncello mixture from Step One . 

Add the additional bottle of Everclear. 

Allow to rest for another 10 to 40 days. 

I suggest 40 days, it really makes a 

HUGE difference.

~~~~~~~~

Step Three : 

After the rest period, strain and bottle: 

discarding the lemon zest. Cheese cloth or 

coffee filters are good methods of straining.

I bought my bottles at 
Specialty Bottles.

Keep it in the freezer until ready to serve.

OR

Add a label and give as a gift

Download for tag/label if 

you want HERE

Wiki:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limoncello

Cheers!

I finished a couple of cards for my own personal use.  I used 

watercolor paper for the card base and my Color Mists.

Then changed a couple of my Cocktale Grl images into

more Patriotic Grls.

Crafty Blogger Blurbs

 

There are a couple of giveaways 

this week, so run don't walk to 

check all the links out!

Tammy Powley has a blog giveaway for the whole month of July!

Carmi's Art/Life World 
Carmi is giving away ONE free spot in Claudine Hellmuth's next Big Picture online class "Composition for Collage." 

Craftside-A behind-the-scenes peek at our crafty world 
This week at Craftside there is a recipe for roasted red pepper pasta, tutorials on how to draw and paint clouds with a watercolor mixing tip and a fun idea for using sewing hook and eyes in a mixed media collage.

Crafty Princess Diaries 
Tammy shares her latest yarn aquistions from Knit Picks and some future project ideas. 

Eileen - The Artful Crafter 
Sneak a peek into Eileen's Creativity at Sea journal.

Evergreen Glass Sculptures 

Cherie makes a glass sculpture out of darker green glass. 

Mixed Media Artist 

Cyndi moves forward with her lava-inspired quilt, but is still not quite sure where she'll end up! 

Stefanie Girard's Sweater Surgery 

Check out my latest creation: a recycled wood and furniture cabinet.  

Craft Wars

Its been while since I've seen any crafting shows on 

TV anymore (why is that?).  So I'm pretty excited 
about the new show Craft Wars that premieres 
tonight on TLC!  I'm hoping that I'm not disappointed 
in it.  Read Kathy "Crafty Chica" Cano-Murillo's 
review HERE ,and another Crafting Queen 
Margot Potters 411 on the show and how 
she finally spills the beans about being on 
Craft Wars HERE.

Crafty Blogger Blurbs

Carmi's Art/Life World 
Is it too early to say Christmas? Carmi has a huge Christmas themed Jewelry post! 

Cherie Burbach 
Cherie's art reflects her busy schedule this week. 

Craftside-A behind-the-scenes peek at our crafty world 
This week at Craftside there are tutorials on the embroidered turkey stitch and using the parts of type as a prompt for hand lettering a quote along with knitted balloons and sugar substitute info.

Crafty Princess Diaries 
The Crafty Princess talks about some jewelry designing she has in the works. 

Eileen - The Artful Crafter 
Do you craft for profit? If yes, be sure you track your costs and your customers to assure profitability and good customer relations.

Mixed Media Artist 
What does Hawai'ian lava have to do with making a quilt?

Tin, Tin, Tins!

Hit the jackpot today garage sale hunting! Found all 

these vintage tart tins, molds and wee bottles!   

I love using tins in my art! Check out my 

Altered Tin Pinterest Board

HERE to get inspired!

Speaking of Tins...

www.OutsideTheMargins.com

is having a 3 Camel Snuff 

Tin Special 

HERE

Pool Time!

I can't believe what a big boy Mr Kevin is getting

to be!  He sure loves playing in the water 

and his pool!

A trip down to So Cal

I recently returned from a trip down to Newport Beach

reconnecting with family and had a wonderful time.

Brought back many fun memories of spending 

part of our summer vacations down there with

friends and family as kids.

Here's a house after my own heart!

I couldn't resist snapping a picture of this

house on Balboa Island.  

One thing I didn't remember seeing as 

a kid was one of my favorite trees, the

Jacaranda Tree growing all over down 

there. I've only seen one here in Modesto 

growing.  I'd love to plant one in my yard!

We arrived just in time to go aboard my cousin's 

ultra 125' Cheyenne Catamaran which carries

the Virgin Oceanic a one-man submarine.

My cousin Chris Welsh along with his business

partner Sir Richard Branson (Virgin Mobile) 

plan to go down in the sub to the deepest 

point in each of the five world oceans.

Click HERE to read more about the 

Virgin Oceanic

Close up of the sub.

This hopefully gives you a good perspective of just 

how big this catamaran is. The mast height above

water measures 160'!  

Last year the mast was up in SF and needed to be 

moved down the road to another building which would 

have been very costly to have it moved. Instead they 

opted to move it themselves with a little ingenuity

Crafty Blogger Blurbs

About Family Crafts 
Not only can you check out an assortment of shrink plastic crafts, you can also participate in a new craft challenge all about the beach! 

Carmi's Art/Life World 
A "Frida in felt" purchase renews Carmi's faith in Etsy!

Cherie Burbach 
Cherie has new paintings that use lines of her poetry.

Craftside-A behind-the-scenes peek at a crafty world 
This week at Craftside this is a type/portrait combo idea, View-Masters as a way to commemorate special events, a tutorial on how to draw cupcakes and info on sugar substitutes.

Crafty Princess Diaries 
Tammy has a new and dangerous love - baby alpaca yarn. 

Eileen - The Artful Crafter 
Yay! We have our first Card Party submissions. Come see and join the fun.

Mixed Media Artist 
Cyndi and her readers received some very wise advice about being a full-time mixed media artist.

Stefanie Girard's Sweater Surgery 
Using numbers as a collage topic in an altered book.